Winder and Arant Haw

An 8km walk with Derek, Naina, Jenny and Simone, Verity, Mark and Hudson B ‘Joss’ Hudson.

Route: leaving the car parked on the main road (A683/4) just short of the Spar and walking north on a footpath to reach Howgill Lane (meeting Verity and Mark). Walking through Lockbank Farm then dog-legging left and right again after about 50m to climb a very steep grassy hillside easing onto a diagonal path. Resisting the temptation to turn left for Winder until reaching a clear, ‘gentle’ path to the summit. Then along a marshy path on the saddle and uphill to Arant Haw. Descending the ridge on a fainter but still obvious path bending left at the bottom to cross a stream. Then heading pathless to try to stay higher than expected to contour round to reach the outward route by Lockbank Farm and back to the car, leaving Verity and Mark on the roadside where we found them.

Conditions: cloudy with sunny spells.

Pub: the Royal Barn, Kirkby Lonsdale for Kirkby Lonsdale Singletrack and a KL mild (not sure of the name).

Fairfield Horseshoe

A 19km walk on a wet day with Richard Gipps.

Route: Leaving the car in the Rydal Road Ambleside car park and walking past the Golden Rule to take the second left to High Sweden Bridge and then climbing indirectly onto the ridge via a lower path to skirt rocks on the ridge itself and then crossing the wall (for the first time) to take the less used path on its left hand side and avoid the obvious later bog to pass Low Pike, High Pike, Dove Crag, Hart Crag and Fairfield and then down past Great Rigg and Heron Pike. Back through the grounds of Rydal Hall.

Conditions: low cloud and intermittent rain but heavy rain only starting in the last half mile.

Pub: the Golden Rule, Ambleside, for Robinson’s Double Hop and a coke.

Braithwaite How

A tiny 2km pootle to explore a previously unexperienced view.

Route: leaving the car in the ex-quarry car park near the foot of the Whinlatter Pass and walking downhill to the Hope Memorial Camp (that day aka Kim's Love Shack) and joining a footpath heading north almost as far as the C-road. Backtracking past a gate and then taking a faint but discernible path left and uphill, through a gate, to join the ridge (with a private wood to the left/east) as far as what seemed to be the highest ground. Then on along the ridge losing height to reach the Hope Memorial Camp again, rejoin the road and return to the car.

Conditions: a dry and pleasant evening.

Pub: the Wainwright Inn, Keswick for Fell Brewery Tinderbox IPA.

Staveley 8km run

A short run after a heavy night in Clapham with Mark, Sandra and a bottle of calvados.

Route: exiting the Mill Yard over the footbridge and heading south east across fields to the sewage works and along the road to the track to Side House. Up the valley on road and track to Ghyll Bank turning left descending over fields to cross Hall Road. Here for the first time doglegging right-left (rather than left-right) to follow paths across fields to Low Elfhowe and then back along a track to Scroggs Farm and the footbridge to the Mill Yard. (Lois peeled off at Littlewood Farm to take the route directly over (near) Spy Crag to Barley Bridge, with a little detour to explore just south of the path.)

Conditions: a dry although cloudy day.

Pub: the Hawkshead Brewery, Staveley for lunch, WPA and Session IPA.